Canterbury Kings vs Central Stags, SST20, Today Match Prediction 05 January 2024

CANT vs CD Match Prediction & Analysis

Runners-up in the last three seasons Canterbury Kings take on Central Stags in an important mid-season clash at the Hagley Oval, Christchurch.

The Kings notched up a convincing win against the Stags when they met a week ago at Plymouth Park, winning by 33 runs in a curtailed game. The Stags will be hoping to avenge that defeat with a much-inspired performance with both bat and ball.

Coming off with a win against Otago, the Kings will be keen on picking up four points from this encounter and give their campaign some momentum, as they prepare to clash with champion teams in Northern Districts and Wellington in the weeks to come.

RECENT PERFORMANCE

CANT

W W L L L

OV

171/5 in 20.0 8.55

SST20

Canterbury won by 4 wkts 03 Jan 2024

CANT

175/6 in 18.5 9.29

CD

142/8 in 19.0 7.47

SST20

Canterbury Kings beat Central Stags by 33 runs (D/L) method 30 Dec 2023

CANT

185/4 in 20.0 9.25

AUCK

185/5 in 20.0 9.25

SST20

Auckland Aces beat Canterbury Kings by 27 runs 19 Dec 2023

CANT

158/10 in 17.5 8.86

WELL

247/8 in 50.0 4.94

FT

Wellington Firebirds beat Canterbury Kings by 55 runs 07 Dec 2023

CANT

192/10 in 44.0 4.36

CANT

250/7 in 50.0 5

FT

Auckland Aces beat Canterbury Kings by 5 wickets 03 Dec 2023

AUCK

251/5 in 49.0 5.12

CD

L W L L W

CD

142/8 in 19.0 7.47

SST20

Canterbury Kings beat Central Stags by 33 runs (D/L) method 30 Dec 2023

CANT

185/4 in 20.0 9.25

CD

206/5 in 20.0 10.3

SST20

Central Stags beat Northern Districts by 56 runs 27 Dec 2023

ND

150/10 in 19.2 7.76

ND

196/9 in 20.0 9.8

SST20

Northern Districts beat Central Stags by 55 runs 22 Dec 2023

CD

141/10 in 19.5 7.11

ND

189/6 in 42.1 4.48

FT

Northern Districts beat Central Stags by 4 wickets 12 Dec 2023

CD

185/10 in 49.4 3.72

CD

236/9 in 50.0 4.72

FT

Central Stags beat Otago Volts by 82 runs 07 Dec 2023

OV

154/10 in 40.0 3.85

HEAD TO HEAD

TEAMS PREVIEW

Canterbury Kings Preview

Canterbury Kings look to firmly establish themselves at the top of the table, and a win against Central Stags at home would help their cause a great deal. Faced with the challenge of playing title winners and perennial favourites Wellington and Northern Districts, Canterbury Kings would want not want to drop the four points on offer here.

Their last game against Otago was far from perfect but they still got the win. Canterbury bowlers removed half the Otago Volts batters inside 15 overs but couldn’t quite mop up the rest, allowing them to score close to 60 runs in the last 5. That’s one area they need to tighten up.

Chasing 172, Canterbury lost opener Chad Bowes and top order batter Leo Cater early but Henry Nicholls and captain Cole McConchie steered them through to victory, helped by some mediocre bowling effort by Otago bowlers who leaked 20 extras. Captain McConchie continued carried his good form with the bat through, after a match-winning 79* against Central Stags last week during which he combined with Michael Rippon to put together a 132-run partnership for the 5th wicket.

Canterbury Kings Predicted Playing XI:

Chad Bowes, Ken McClure, Henry Nicholls, Cole McConchie (c), Matthew Hay, Mitchell Hay (wk), Michael Rippon, Zakary Foulkes, Angus McKenzie, Michael Rae, William ORourke.

Canterbury Kings Actual Playing XI:

Chad Bowes, Henry Nicholls, Cole McConchie, Daryl Mitchell, Michael Rippon, Zakary Foulkes, Tom Latham, Ish Sodhi, Matt Henry, Michael Rae, William O'Rourke

Central Stags Preview

Central Stags opened their Super Smash season with a 55-run loss against defending champs Northern Districts, but quickly bounced back in style with a dominating performance with both bat and ball that saw them hand a 56-run defeat to the same team. Eyeing another win in the bag, they went up against Auckland only for the game to be abandoned without a ball bowled. 

In the next match, Central Stags played Canterbury Kings at home and were beaten fair and sqaure. After chipping away with the wickets of the top 4 batsmen inside 9 overs, Stags' bowlers couldn’t find an answer to the onslaught from Cole McConchie and Michael Rippon who combined for a massive 130 run partnership. With the bat, all Stags could muster was 142 runs for the loss of 8 wickets, before bad light stopped play. Their batters found run scoring in the middle overs extremely challenging and were never able to put the foot on the pedal and accelerate when the situation demanded.

They should pay attention to bowling well at the back end and scoring runs in the middle overs, if they want to pose a challenge to Canterbury in this crucial away clash.

Central Stags Predicted Playing XI:

Tom Bruce (c), Will Young, Dane Cleaver (wk), William Clark, Josh Clarkson, Doug Bracewell, Bayley Wiggins, Bevan Small, Ajaz Patel, Blair Tickner, Jayden Lennox.

Central Stags Actual Playing XI:

Tom Bruce, Will Young, William Clark, Bayley Wiggins, Dane Cleaver, Ajaz Patel, Blair Tickner, Jayden Lennox, Bevan Small, Doug Bracewell, Josh Clarkson

PITCH AND WEATHER CONDITIONS

Weather Conditions

The pitch here in general offers plenty of assistance to bowlers early on and flattens out as the game goes on allowing batsmen to score freely. Weather forecast suggests considerable cloud cover with chances of the occasional drizzle slightly higher than usual.

CANT vs CD Pitch Report

The match is taking place at the Hagley Oval at Christchurch, home to Canterbury Kings. In the 7 matches held here, each team has won 3 apiece, and one match ended up as being no result.

Toss: To Bowl

Central Stags' chasing record against Canterbury Kings is not impressive (only won 4 times), so the Kings wouldn’t mind batting first if the coin flip went their way. However, with the rain threat around, Kings might even opt to bowl first. It gives them a chance to restrict Stags to a target within reach, and be ahead of the chase if the rain comes down and the DLS calculation comes into play.